updated 01:00 am EDT, Tue March 29, 2011

Features 'virtual trackpad,' customizable settings

RafSoftware has released version 2.0 of their Remoter VNC app for iOS, allowing iDevice users to connect to and control computers running any of the three mainstream desktop OSes. Using v3.8 of the VNC protocol, the app adds a "virtual trackpad" overlay that allows users to substitute touches, taps and swipes for conventional clicks, double-clicks and drags. The app features auto-discovery of local machines via both Bonjour and NetBIOS, and can optionally add SSH and Telnet capabilities via in-app purchase. To celebrate the new release, the program is on sale for a limited time for $1.

The app is very full-featured, offering four categories of fine-controlled user-configurable settings, including keyboard, trackpad, visual and other settings, right down to mouse pointer acceleration sliders. Able to connect on both Wi-Fi and 3G, a total of 18 customizable settings and a automatic "intuitive" help screen that only pops up when you first access a control, Remoter VNC also offers international keyboard support (German, French, Russian and Spanish), multiple-monitor support, server-side scaling, Wake-on-LAN support, special key support (Esc, Tab, alt, directionals, PageUp and PageDown, F1-F12 etc), color depth settings, three trackpad modes and of course both landscape and portrait orientations.

New in v2 is an auto-discovery list, which grabs Hostname, IP, Port and MAC addresses; information buttons for guidance if requested; optional in-app purchases of SSH and Telnet ($1 each) based on PuTTY with full color and mouse support; on-screen keyboard hiding during external keyboard discovery; audible feedback as an option and support for MS Login Authentication via UltraVNC.

The program supports iOS 3.1.2 or higher (and now also supports iOS 4.3) and works with iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. The program comes with free lifetime upgrades for the main program; a $4 in-app purchase buys users both the SSH and Telnet upgrades as well as lifetime upgrades for all new and revised add-ons.